


a strange feeling

by kangbora (ohfiitz)



Series: sungjinbora bffs [2]
Category: Day6 (Band), Dreamcatcher (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Bi Bora is where it's at babyyy, Childhood Friends, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:29:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26418007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohfiitz/pseuds/kangbora
Summary: Bora has a strange relationship with Younghyun, to say the least. They’re not close friends. Not exactly. But the weird thing is, although Bora dated a few people in high school, Younghyun is somehow the person she’s kissed the most. And now he's the only person she knows in campus.
Relationships: Kang Younghyun | Young K/Kim Bora | SuA
Series: sungjinbora bffs [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1920217
Comments: 6
Kudos: 10





	a strange feeling

**Author's Note:**

  * For [atemzug](https://archiveofourown.org/users/atemzug/gifts).



> happy happy birthday, ree! thank you for being born, and i am so blessed to have met you this year through this extraordinary crackship ♡ this is not the momol fic you wanted haha but i hope you still enjoy it!
> 
> (note to readers: this is a sequel to 'if you do' but i think the backstory is explained pretty well here so you don't really need to read that if you don't want to lmao)

This is _not_ what Bora expected her first day at college to be like. She expected new friends and welcome parties and the exhilarating aroma of freedom. She was looking forward to college for years, craving the independence and freedom she could never get in the small town she grew up in. But instead she has boxes and boxes left unpacked and a certain Kang Younghyun plopped in her dorm bed. She doesn’t even know how the boy found out where her dorm room was, but he showed up at her door at 8 in the morning with a box of pizza, going on about how she’s the only person he knows at the university (never mind that classes haven’t even started and it’s the first freaking moving in day), and so here they are.

Younghyun was her classmate since first grade and Bora has… a strange relationship with him, to say the least. They’re not close _friends._ Not exactly. But the weird thing is, although Bora dated a few people in high school, Younghyun is somehow the person she’s kissed the most. It started in seventh grade, when she kissed him because of a dare, and for some reason it just kept happening. Maybe they just happened to always be drunk at the exact same place at the exact same time. Maybe it was familiarity. Maybe it just turned into a habit at some point.

And now he's the closest thing she has to a friend in campus, and she doesn’t quite know what to do about it. He's made himself at home, lying down in her bed while humming random songs as she eats the pizza at her study desk. 

Younghyun suddenly halts his singing and sits up, wearing a serious expression. “Bora, why do you hate me?”

The question takes her aback.

“I don’t _hate_ you. I just don’t…” She chews on her pizza for a bit and contemplates how she really feels towards the guy. “I just don’t... uh, like you much, I guess.”

Younghyun blinks at her in confusion. “That’s the same thing though?”

“No, it’s not… Look, maybe you’re just used to people being into you but, surprise, I’m not.” She shrugs.

“And _you’re_ not used to people being into you, huh?” Younghyun says with a knowing smirk. 

He is, of course, referring to the fact that for most of high school, Bora liked the same girl that her best friend was in love with. Neither of them really made a move, and so they graduated from high school and left home without the girl even being aware of their feelings. She actually hasn't talked to the girl, Minji, in a while, and it seems that her best friend has also moved on from the whole thing. How Younghyun even knew about that is a mystery, but she figures she wasn’t exactly subtle about her feelings for Minji.

“Shut up,” she responds, hitting him with a pillow. 

“I’m just kidding!" Younghyun ducks just in time and gets up to leave. "But hey, if you ever need someone who actually likes you, here’s my new number.”

He takes a pen from her desk and jots down his number on the inside of the now-empty pizza box. He signs it off as YOUNGHYUN OPPA and a little heart, winking at her when he finishes writing.

“Whatever.” Bora waves him off, rolling her eyes as he leaves. She takes a long look at the box and saves the number on her phone. Just in case.

✎✎✎

She finally uses the number one Thursday night. Her art assignment requires her to take photos of her hometown so she makes plans to go home in the weekend. She briefly considers asking one of her new friends to go with her but it doesn't feel like they're close enough for that yet. She considers asking her best friend Sungjin, too, but he’s been having a hard time of his own adjusting to college life, and she didn't want to be a bother. So really, it’s not like she wanted to spend time with Kang Younghyun. He was simply the most convenient option.

“Kim Bora! Over here!” Younghyun yells when he spots her at their meeting place, and everyone in the vicinity turns their eyes on both of them. _Great. Now she’s gonna have more fangirls pestering her about Younghyun._

“Can you please keep your voice down?”

“No. Why would I? It’s our first date and I’m excited.”

She means to correct him, she really does. But he’s beaming at her from beneath his baseball cap (which she _knows_ he’s had since middle school and honestly, it’s kind of endearing) and she just sort of forgets all about it.

Everyone talks about that critical period of transition from high school to college, but nothing prepared Bora for the strangeness of going back to her hometown for the first time after moving out. After a brief visit to their families, Bora and Younghyun take pictures of some random spots in town. The basketball court. The corner store near Younghyun's house. Bora's favorite tteokbokki place. These were places that used to be part of Bora's everyday life but now seem like pieces of history to be preserved. 

They end the day by sneaking into the rooftop of their high school, looking over the school grounds as the sun sets behind them. Memories suddenly come flooding back to Bora. Cheerleading practice with Minji and the rest of the squad, mornings spent cramming her math homework and Sungjin scolding her for it (though he would always help her, anyway), both the blissful innocence of youth and the feeling of wanting desperately to get out of their small, boring town.

“I don't know how to feel about being here again. Does it feel weird to you?” she asks Younghyun.

“Not really. Nothing’s really changed and we haven’t been gone long, anyway.” He studies her for a moment then adds, “You miss Sungjin, don’t you? Why didn’t you ask him to come?”

“Of course I miss him. It’s just that… I didn’t want to interfere with his new life, you know?”

Younghyun raises his eyebrows at her. “That’s ridiculous. You’re his best friend.”

“I know, I know. And I know Sungjin would never ignore me on purpose. I guess I just feel like we need to get through this on our own. He’s been by my side practically all my life, and now I need to get used to him being so far away. Does that make sense?”

Younghyun ponders the statement for a bit then nods in understanding, giving Bora a smile that somehow feels reassuring. She feels an odd quiver in her chest and realizes then why she’s drawn to Kang Younghyun. He’s a reminder of home. But not one that makes her want to go back. He actually makes it feel like it's okay to not want to, that it's okay to start a new life without forgetting who she is - because this place _did_ build her up, but now she also gets to decide what her life would be like. It gives her a lot of comfort.

They catch the last bus back to the city and arrive a little past midnight. Younghyun walks Bora to her dorm and waves a sleepy goodbye, but she catches his hand before he can turn to leave. She presses a kiss on his cheek, just a quick peck, and smiles.

“Thanks for today. And for being my friend.”

He smiles back and disappears into the night.

✎✎✎

This is _not_ what Bora expected falling in love again to feel like. She’s experienced it before, of course. She was secretly in love with the most beautiful girl in the world (or, well, in her high school) for the better part of two years. But this? This is entirely different. This isn’t really _falling_ , not exactly. It feels more like a slow descent, like finding a soft place to land and settling onto it gently, cautiously, until the ground feels less like a hard surface and more like home.

She doesn’t know how or when it started. But somehow over several months, Kang Younghyun managed to carve out his own place in Bora’s life.

He’s there on Tuesday mornings (the worst) when she’s trying to drag herself to her 7am history class. He’s there when she crams a paper until four in the morning, refilling her tea and making occasional jokes to keep her awake. He’s there when she’s missing Sungjin, and when she finally gets over her worries and reaches out to Sungjin, and when Sungjin laughs at her for ever doubting her status as his best friend. He’s there when she misses home, and when she’s excited about exploring new places, and when she eventually decides on her favorite spots in campus.

_I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun_.

She used to loathe _Pride and Prejudice_ and that one line in particular because seriously, how does one even fall in love without realizing it?

But today Younghyun is talking animatedly about how the noodles in the Humanities Building cafeteria is so much better than in the one near the dorms and Bora is suddenly hyperaware of everything about him - like the way his nose crinkles when he laughs at his own pun, or the genuine joy in his voice when he greets random people he recognizes from his classes, or his habit of running his tongue over his lips when he smiles. It makes her want to kiss him senseless.

So she does.

It takes Younghyun a few heartbeats to realize what's happening but then he catches up, kissing her back with a kind of tenderness she's never noticed before. Did he always kiss like this? Bora deepens the kiss, trying to remember how kissing him used to feel like when they were younger but then he runs his tongue over _her_ lips and she stops thinking altogether. They're here, now, and that's all that matters. 


End file.
